School district maneuvers on the odd side

The leaders of the Sweetwater Union High School District deserve praise for deciding not to follow through on plans to borrow $58 million in voter-approved bond funds to pay operating costs this fiscal year and to then backfill the bond borrowing with state funding arriving early in the 2011-12 fiscal year. But their willingness to entertain the scheme is alarming.

Dianne Russo, Sweetwater Union’s chief financial officer, cites language in the California Education Code allowing a temporary transfer of funds. But the Education Code is trumped by the California Constitution, which says school bond funds cannot be used for operating expenses. What’s more, district auditors had already warned the district over similar borrowing in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years.

In an interview before Sweetwater Union officials changed their minds, Russo offered a sweeping defense of the proposal and suggested critics didn’t understand state law and the Education Code. But the constitutional language is there for a reason – to guard against abuse of bond money. Russo and the district should have known that.